The lives of Bangladeshi Sree Shanaton Kumar Biswas and his family
have been transformed since he became a machinery contractor.While they once lived in poverty, they now
run a successful business and also became land owners.

This came about after Shanaton took the opportunity to purchase a ‘versatile
multi-crop planter’ in 2007 that was being introduced to farmers through an
ACIAR project. “The idea was that by helping farmers test and adopt conservation
agriculture, they would benefit in many ways, including by reducing labour
costs,” said project leader Professor Richard Bell of Murdoch University.

“While many of the farmers are benefitting through conservation agriculture, some of the biggest beneficiaries have been the people who have
became machinery contractors,” he said. “It has allowed them to transform their
family’s lives from being very poor, to being financially secure.”

From poverty to business

“I used to be a farm labourer.Then I sold clay pots to make money. We were very poor.We often didn’t have enough food or good
clothes,” said Shanaton.

“I decided to buy one.From
the start there was a huge demand for the planter from the farmers,” said
Shanaton.“I had to have three drivers
and we were working day and night to meet demand. I made 80'000 Taka (approximately A$1000)
that year.”

Since then Shanaton has paid back his loan, and has purchased 1.3 hectares
of cropland for his family.

Counting blessings

As a result of his success Shanaton is now a respected person in the
community.His family is well fed. They
can pay for their children’s school fees. They have become farmers in their own
right.

Shanaton and his family are so grateful for the opportunity to turn
their lives around, that they had a blessing for their tractor.

"I have given blessings to the gods many times, but they did not
change my life. This planter has changed
my life, so I have given blessings to this planter," said Shanaton.

"This machine is helping to improve our lives, because it is the
source of our income. So we felt we should satisfy it like a god, so we blessed
it so that it can be more productive."

Spreading the word

More than 3,000 small contractors like Shanaton now provide services to about
150,000 farmers.

“ACIAR has been working to bring service provider/farm machinery
contractors in a platform to disseminate new agricultural technologies among
the farmers community quickly and effectively,” said Enamul Haque.

“I am very happy to have been involved with Enamul Haque, every time
I called him he answered and helped me. I am only a small man, but because of
his help I have been able to improve my life,” said Shanaton.